A Long Trek
by Punzie the Platypus
Summary: God bless you! Hiccup and Astrid disappear when the six teens go on a hike up the biggest mountain in Berk. They've got the others worried sick (not that they'll ever admit that), and the fatigue of climbing a mountain takes its toll. God bless you!


**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own How To Train Your Dragon. Wahhh. I GOT THE HTTYD SOUNDTRACK YESTERDAY AND WAS LITERALLY GIDDY WITH EXCITEMENT! I've always loved Forbidden Friendship and I fell in love with it all over again. This particular story is dedicated to my friend, IcelandicEel, to whom I explained the plot beforehand and who also approved. Love you, man! This story is inspired by my own clumsiness. The day before a hike I went and stepped on the part of a nightlight that sticks into the wall. I thereon limped for the rest of the day and was somehow able to make it through the hike. Let's hope Hiccup can also. **

It was a mountain, a HUGE mountain. Huge is actually kind of an understatement when used to describe the gargantuan rocky hill that six individuals were going to climb. It was a two mile walk from the village and a mile around and around the mountain, it was a very long trek indeed, but did the Vikings care? No, they didn't. They have stubbornness issues.

Dark and cloudy one morning, the six said individuals prepared to go up the mountain. Ruff and Tuff chased each other around in circles, stretching their legs, as they put it, Hiccup thought that that was just their excuse to goofball. Snotlout was explaining to a grinning Fishlegs on how fun this all would be, and he turned to Hiccup and called over to him, "This'll be fun, hey cous?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes and called over, "Yeah, sure." He sighed and muttered to himself, "Pain, _love _it." Hiccup himself wasn't too excited about this hike. He usually thought of himself as a rather unpersuadable person, but lately Snotlout had been proving him otherwise. His cousin now had a habit of including him in all the teens' activities, which included this one.

Snotlout had approached Hiccup about it last night at Mead Hall, where Hiccup had thought he had made his point about not wanting to go very clear, but apparently Snotlout hadn't heard him. He was too busy describing how cool it would be to scale the side of the mountain, named Besta Enorme, meaning huge beast. Snotlout had continued with his 'not listening to Hiccup' idea when he had barged into the Chief's home this morning and literally dragged Hiccup out of bed. The boy winced as he rubbed a sore bruise on his back from him thrashing from his cousin's grip.

Hiccup liked walking, he liked walking a lot more than other Vikings. He used to just walk around aimlessly in the woods, away from disapproving stares, taunting teens and a frustrated father. He'd collect his thoughts during his walks and had always found it calming out in nature. This hike, he groaned, would be anything but, because of one thing.

Yep, his prosthetic.

The Vikings always found it pretty cool to have a missing limb. Missing a limb meant that you had to have done something courageous in order to have gotten so severely injured. Hiccup had never really thought of the advantages of having one, he was too busy thinking about the disadvantages.

It wasn't like he hadn't had experience with prosthesis before. He practically lived day in and say out assisting a blacksmith who had _two _prosthesis. They were always a bit of a bother to take care of. Gobber had a peg for a leg, which was rather easy to help with, because the sarcastic man didn't need any help with it, but his hand had to be changed steadily to be of any use in the forge.

Hiccup had dealt with it patiently enough, he usually was a very patient person, but his prosthetic nearly drove him mad. It, unlike Gobber's, was not made out of wood but out of complicated hooks and shaped metal. It was made this way for when he rode Toothless, but, of course, he didn't ride the dragon all the time. For the other few hours of the day he was on land, he'd drag it around. He thought it'd get easier to walk around with, which it was to a degree, but he could still barely run. It was a bit disheartening.

Astrid soon joined the group with a packed lunch, and with a cheer from Snotlout, they started.

Hiccup stopped and half sighed and half groaned as he looked on ahead of them. They had barely gone a few yards, but that was all he needed to catch a glimpse of the mountain. They had to traverse through two miles of bug-infested, tree filled, rocky and steep terrain before they even got to the mountain. Hiccup then did what Astrid had dubbed the grosi, and folded his arms grumpily. Snotlout had failed to tell him it was nearly forty degrees out. He so did love his cousin.

He muttered himself as he started up again. He was an unusually fast walker, faster than his father's long legs even, it was just a matter of lifting his appendage each time he took a step. He was able to keep up with the other teens until they were about a half-mile into their hike. Snotlout had the twins and Fishlegs engrossed in one of his exaggerated stories, so it was only Astrid who looked back at the lone boy.

She smirked slightly when she saw him muttering and kicking at little rocks as he came across them. He stopped for a minute to kick at a slightly larger rock than the ones he had been kicking, and stubbed his toe in the process. He instantly winced and Astrid knew that he would jump around one-legged if he could, but of course he couldn't, nobody could balance on a metal prosthetic, especially not the clumsy blacksmith's apprentice.

Astrid slowed her steps until she was separated from the main group, and ran back to Hiccup. He looked up at and she asked him brightly as she fell into step with him, "Whatcha doin'?

"Oh, I'm just feeling sorry for myself, that's all," Hiccup laughed sarcastically. Astrid could sense the bitterness inside his voice, but she could tell that he was in no mood, so she decided to answer back cheerfully, "Yep, and so am I."

Hiccup gave her one of his incredulous faces and said, "Really?"

"Yep, I do. I feel sorry for you because you're pitying yourself." Astrid smiled to herself as a shocked expression came on his face and she immediately started to walk faster. Hiccup looked at her and made an effort to keep up with her.

"I am NOT pitying myself!" he retorted once he has gotten to her. Astrid folded her arms and smirked at him, "See?"

"See what?" he asked, slightly annoyed at her.

"Once you stopped pitying yourself and made an effort, you were able to catch up with me," she explained. Astrid pointed to their two pairs of legs, walking simultaneously, save for the slight hiccup in Hiccup's prosthetic, and pointed out, "Even now you're keeping up."

He looked at her, slightly perplexed. Astrid was the poster child of two mighty Viking warriors, young and relentless, but yet sometimes, like now, she proved to Hiccup that she was wiser than her age of fifteen years.

"Well, I am NOW, but you know in a few minutes, you all will smoke me." Hiccup pointed ahead to the other teens, hitting each other and laughing, who were also nearly a quarter mile ahead of them.

"Well, let's think," Astrid began.

"Well, yes, let's analyze the situation. I already did the stupid thing of letting Snotlout make me do this, and I can't think of a crazy thing to do right now," Hiccup scowled. Astrid scoffed at his words and thought for a moment. Her eyes brightened and she put a hand on Hiccup's shoulder in excitement, "A walking stick."

"A walking stick?" Hiccup answered her. Was that her best idea?

"Believe me, it'll work," Astrid reassured him. Hiccup watched uncertainly as Astrid said loudly, "LET'S GET A WALKING STICK FROM THE WOODS!" Hiccup yelped, having her loud voice that near to his ear was not that healthy. He quickly covered both ears with his hands and looked at Astrid, who was smiling at him. He highered an eyebrow at her and she pointed over her shoulder, where his gaze followed.

The other teens had obviously heard her loud talk, and Snotlout yelled excitedly, "Let's get walking sticks!"

The three blondes cheered as they raced after their leader, "I'm going to get the best one!" Tuffnut yelled.

"Yeah, right, Big Nose, _I'm _going to get the best one!" Ruffnut yelled at her twin.

"No, I am, it's my destiny!" came the retort from the woods. Hiccup smiled despite himself at their bantering, and turned to Astrid, who was also smiling, and she said, "Now scream."

Hiccup dropped his smile and merely blinked at her. Once, twice. She put her hands on her hips and bent forward into his face. He could feel her warm breath as she whispered, "Scream now, or I'll give you something to scream about." At that, Hiccup gulped. Astrid straightened up and he sighed. Inhaling, he took in a deep breath and howled at the top of his lungs. He knew that the other teens wouldn't come to see what was wrong since he was with Astrid.

His yell resounded through the woods, causing the birds that were sitting in the trees to chirp loudly and fly away. Astrid smiled and said, "That's enough." Hiccup instantly closed his mouth and turned to the girl. His scream would probably make the whole village come searching for them, and his father would be mad if he found out that he had cried wolf.

He was about to ask Astrid what the point was of this when she held up her finger and shushed him softly. His ears perked up at the rapid sound of thumping coming toward them, and he turned around to see a black animal bounding toward them. He was about to scream when he realized that the animal that was speeding at them was Toothless. Astrid put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him soft and firmly against the ground, signaling him to stay put. She then ran off behind a rock, leaving Hiccup to say in a scared voice, "What are you doing!"

He braced himself against the ground as the Night Fury pounced on him, knocking him over. The dragon instantly started to sniff the downed boy hurriedly, searching for any injuries. Hiccup let out an annoyed groan when Toothless spat accidentally all over his face. He scowled as he tried to wipe away the saliva when he heard Astrid giggle slightly from behind her rock. He managed to shove Toothless off from him, shouting, "Get off of me!" Toothless allowed him to stand up, assisting him while he did it, and then he resumed his sniffing once his boy was up.

Astrid came out from behind her rock and smirked, "That's one protective dragon."

Hiccup scowled again as he let lifted his arms for Toothless to sniff his sides and retorted, annoyed, at Astrid, "Figured that out on your own, did ya?" Toothless finished with his investigation and peered around the forest for enemies or anyone who could have caused his boy to scream.

"Well, what's your plan?" Hiccup asked Astrid. The girl smirked and replied, "He's a dragon, and you're a dragon rider. Take a few guesses."

Hiccup, although slightly annoyed at her, smiled at her as he petted Toothless. The unholy offspring of lightening and death sat on his hind legs and purred like a kitten. The chief's son smiled at his Night Fury's antics and said, "Good idea."

* * *

"Dude! I found a stick!" Tuffnut yelled. The boy Thorston twin held up his staff in triumph. His sister, Ruffnut, was rummaging through a pile of sticks and found a stick that didn't look too bad. She instantly drew it out and shouted in her husky voice, "No, Bug Breath, I did!"

"Yeah? Prove it," Tuffnut challenged. They both stood up and walked to the largest rock in their vicinity and they each placed their sticks on top of it. Tuffnut's stick was nearly seven feet tall and it was covered in green fungus. It was nearly a Viking fist thick at the top and was as thin as an axe handle at the bottom. Ruffnut's was a reasonably good sized one. It was about five feet tall and as slender as a spool of thread. The only thing wrong with it was that the bottom was rotten and filled with maggots.

"Eww! You're the only one who'd choose one that's infested!" Tuffnut screwed his face up into a disgusted one. Ruffnut hardly flinched as she retorted at her twin, "Well, at least mine isn't as uneven as Gobber on a Terror!"

"Oh, yeah?" Tuffnut put his nose to Ruffnut, who quickly returned the favor and yelled, "Heck yeah!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"_Yeah?"_

_"_YEAH!"

The walking sticks forgotten, the two instantly planted their hands on each other's shoulder and tried to flip the other over. They continued to insult each other when they brought each other to the ground and they started to wrestle. The two barely acknowledged Fishlegs' presence when the boy burst out of the woods, calling, "Guys! Guys! I found the COOLEST stick!" The twins managed to stand again, hands still on each other's shoulders, and they both managed to steal a look at the stick. The staff was fairly simple, it had a few twigs on it, but it was a good size for Fishlegs.

"Nice, Legs, now if you'll EXCUSE ME, I need to beat up my pathetic brother!" Ruffnut yelled, and the two started to go hard again.

"Thanks, Ruffnut. Hey, Snotlout, what do you think?" Fishlegs called. The said teen appeared out of the thick trees and examined the stick. He smiled and said, "Yeah, that's nice, Legs, but," he held out his stick proudly, "THIS! Is a walking stick!" Fishlegs examined it closely. While it was a good stick in Snotlout's eyes, in reality it was the size of a small tree. It actually was a small tree, the little roots were still sticking out of it. It was as thick as a small mallet, and as tall as a doorway, but yet somehow, it seemed perfect to Snotlout.

"Well, Snotlout, it IS nice, but-" Fishlegs said, but before he could say anymore, a loud scream filled all their ears. Fishlegs and Snotlout turned to where they had come, and the twins separated. They each stood up, Tuffnut rubbing his ear where his sister had bitten him, and listened. The scream soon stopped and they all looked at each other nervously.

"Oh, guys, who was that?" Fishlegs said worriedly. The large boy twisted his stick around in his hands nervously as Snotlout looked at the three. He would never admit this to any of them, but he was a bit worried because he thought that that scream sounded like his cousin.

Tuffnut was the first one to break out of their worried spell. He straightened, and his stick completely forgotten, yelled, "Let's go check it out!" The boy raced back to the path, and a few seconds later Ruffnut ran after him. Fishlegs and Snotlout stared at each other and they both shrugged and followed them.

Tuffnut reached the path first, and he stood in shock for a moment. Ruffnut came tumbling down beside him, and he stuck out his arm. She collided with his arm and was about to punch him when he gestured for her to look. Fishlegs and Snotlout came behind them, and the four of them looked around.

The beaten path was empty. Tuffnut straightened and walked out on the path, looking intently for anything. There was a big imprint in the dark soil, but that was it.

"Where's Hiccup and Astrid?" Ruffnut wondered. The three of them followed Tuffnut as they all looked around.

"Oh, this is bad, you guys," Fishlegs moaned. He started to hyperventilate quietly and his nervous hands broke his stick in half.

Snotlout groaned and wiped his face with his hand as he yelled, "This isn't THAT BAD!"

"But what happened?" Tuffnut asked Snotlout.

"Did they get eaten?" Ruffnut wondered.

"Maybe they wandered ahead?" Fishlegs babbled nervously.

"I don't know! Shut up, and let me think!" Snotlout yelled at the three. He was the oldest and the leader of their group, and it was he who dragged Hiccup on this thing. Not to mention Astrid was gone! He leaned against a tree and moaned. Stupid Hiccup had to get himself lost! While he wasn't really concerned about Hiccup, he was concerned about himself facing Stoick's wrath if they returned without the two teens.

"Maybe we should go back and get help," Tuffnut suggested. Snotlout instantly whirled around and said sternly, "We are NOT going to the village. They probably didn't search for sticks and they went on ahead. Let's go." He started to walk in a hurried manner, and the other teens looked at each other and then fell in line with their leader.

They plodded along for a few minutes and saw no sign of them. Fishlegs, the worried one, whispered anxiously, "Hiccup? Astrid?"

The twins quickly picked up on his cue and they both started to yell, "Hiccup! Astrid!" Their tones weren't harsh or mad, but more worried. Of course, if you told them you thought that, you'd earn yourself a Thorston knuckle sandwich.

By the time they had gone searching for nearly twenty minutes, the nervous teens were on the verge of running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Tuffnut and Ruffnut were wringing their four hands together and Fishlegs was hyperventilating harder and harder. Snotlout tried to hide his quickened breathing but it was hard when the atmosphere was full of hurried in-and-exhaling.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut were about to scream at the top of their lungs when Snotlout shouted, "You guys, calm down! This is Hiccup and Astrid for pete's sake! She's the best Viking ever and he knows these woods. They're probably, probably..."

"PROBABLY TAKEN CAPTIVE BY ANOTHER TRIBE!" Ruffnut yelled.

"WHAT WILL WE TELL THE CHIEF?" Tuffnut yelled. The two usually levelheaded twins were going wild with guilt and worry as they hyperventilated.

"Okay, okay, we need a plan," Snotlout said in a forced calm voice.

"A plan's probably a good idea," Fishlegs agreed. "What's the plan?"

Snotlout started to pace back and forth as Tuffnut said excitedly, "Alert the village and round up the dragons!"

"No, no! Get our own dragons and face them like we did with the Queen Dragon!" Ruffnut suggested.

"No, MY idea!" Tuffnut yelled at her.

"No, MY idea!" Ruffnut yelled back. They went nose-to-nose again and during their disagreement, got their horns tangled together. While the two worked at separating their horns, cursing each other the whole while, Fishlegs raised his hand nervously and Snotlout nodded for him to speak. Fishlegs cleared his throat and said, "I think we weren't loud enough with our yelling. I suggest we go to the top of the mountain and call for them there."

Snotlout stroked his chin and then slowly nodded his head. "Let's do that."

* * *

"I'm trudging, I didn't know people actually trudged," Ruffnut groaned. She put an arm around her brother's shoulders for some support, and he returned the gesture. Both panting violently, they followed their tired leader. Fishlegs lagged behind, both of his chubby hands on his knees. The four had raced up to the mountain, but their excitement and energy quickly ran out when they started hiking. Now they were just keeping themselves moving.

The mountain was relentless to the young Vikings. They reached out to the side of the rocky mountain for support and held onto rocks at the steep parts. Their efforts seemed fruitless as the time and pain in their legs dragged on and on.

"We're living proof that people, fun fact, Sis, do actually trudge," Tuffnut replied. His retort that was dripping with sarcasm would have usually earned him a punch to the head, but do to their fatigue, Ruffnut merely hit him with the side of her head.

"Great idea to climb the mountain, Fishlegs. One of your better ones," Snotlout called over his shoulder. Fishlegs, who had been resting against a rock, quickly ran after him, panting wildly and yelling, "We were going to climb the mountain ANYWAY, Snotlout, and who's idea was that?"

Snotlout groaned and muttered at the boy angrily, "Shut up, Ingerman!"

"Oh, Ingerman? Who was the one who was bragging about how we were going to kick this mountain's butt? Who needs to shut up now?" Fishlegs retorted. The nerd was not so usually heated, but the disappearance of the two teens who he had become good friends with had visibly shaken him.

"Shut UP!"

"No, Jorgenson, YOU shut UP!"

"SHUT UP!"

"CLAP YOUR MOUTH CLOSE AND DO NOT UTTER ANOTHER WORD!"

"WOULD YOU PLEASE SPEAK REGULAR LANGUAGE LIKE THE REST OF US?"

"I AM!"

"YOU ARE SO NOT, NERD!"

"NOODLE BRAIN!"

"DORK!"

Tuffnut and Ruffnut had taken a slight break at a rock, and they looked at each and smiled. Ruffnut cupped her hands around her mouth and called after them, "Hey, if there's any name calling, it'll be coming from a Thorston!"

"SHUT UP, NUT!"

"What did you just call my sister, Toothache!" Tuffnut yelled at Snotlout.

"Nut, Straw Hair!"

The four teens immediately fell into a heated argument as they were up the mountain. They could barely hear each other over their own loud and insult filled screaming. Each time one of them stopped for a breath, five new insults leaped on their heads. They bickered and grumbled and then Tuffnut yelled, "Shut up, or I'll hurl you over the top of the mountain!"

"You can't do that, Stink Breath, we're not on the top of the mountain!" Snotlout retorted.

"Uh, yeah, you are."

The four astonished teens turned to see Astrid and Hiccup seating next to each other on the edge of the top of the mountain. Toothless looked like he was holding in a dragon laugh as he curled up behind the two teens. The two seemed reasonably relaxed as the four stopped talking and looked at them, puzzled.

Astrid smirked and Hiccup hid a smile at the looks on their faces. Surprised and incredulous, it took them a moment to realize that they had finally made it to the top and that the two Vikings that they had worried their heads over were sitting comfortably on the edge viewing the sky.

Snotlout somehow managed to recover his voice and he asked, a bit baffled, "How the heck did you guys get up here?"

"Yeah, what about that scream?" Tuffnut asked.

"Weren't you carried off by another tribe?" Ruffnut wondered.

"I'll tell you, and nope. Hiccup was lagging behind ("I was NOT!"), yes you were, and so I made you guys go look for sticks to distract you. Hiccup called Toothless over here basically by screaming, and we both rode on him to the top of mountain where we have been enjoying the view for the last couple of hours and wondered when you guys were coming," Astrid explained.

Snotlout looked at them both for a moment before he yelled, "You TRICKED us!"

"No, more like, took a shortcut for the same results," Hiccup stood up and patted Toothless on the head. The Night Fury purred in response to the gesture.

"You mean we walked three miles and up a mountain for nothing?" Tuffnut said, slightly annoyed and horrified.

"That was what you were planning to do, right?" Astrid laughed. The four tired teens looked at each other. They were all annoyed with them for causing so much worry AND, for taking a dragon up the mountain while they had trudged, TRUDGED! up the side of the thing.

"You know," Snotlout said slowly as he sat down next to Astrid. Hiccup immediately noticed his cousin and instantly sat down between them, muttering, "Move over, please," to Snotlout. The other three blondes each took a seat on the edge as Snotlout rolled his eyes and continued, "We're going to have to prank you both when we get home for that."

"Oh, I'm sure you won't want to do that," Astrid said slyly. She and Hiccup shared a look as Snotlout rolled his eyes and asked, "And why wouldn't we want to do that?"

"Astrid and I know all your dreams," Hiccup replied. He laid back on the cool ground with his arms folded for a pillow under his head. Snotlout eyed Hiccup curiously and asked, "What?" Astrid let out a giggle and whispered in Snotlout's ear, "_But despite his little flaws!" _

_"And his huge flailing jaws!" _Hiccup added. The two of them joined together in, "_He really just wants a bit of romance!" _

"What are you talking about? Everyone knows I like ladies," Snotlout said.

"Yeah, but do they know that you sang a SONG about you and ladies in Mead Hall?" Astrid asked him.

"Or how Tuffnut likes crocheting minutes in his free time, or how Ruff really wants an itty bitty kitty," Hiccup added.

"Or how Fishlegs secretly likes writing poetry?" Astrid laughed. The four instantly flashed several variations of the color we know as red when Snotlout answered, "Fine, but remember, keep your mouths shut."

"Cross my heart," Astrid answered cheerfully.

"And hope to die," Hiccup added. "But," he drawled out, "I can't guarantee that Toothless won't blab you out."

"Toothless can't speak, right? Did he manage to obtain a human's ability to use his vocal cords to make coherent sentences?" Fishlegs wondered. The other five teens each highered their eyebrows at his question and Hiccup answered, "No, but he can tell the other dragons, and they'll be laughing at you."

"Everywhere you go," Astrid finished.

Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins rolled their eyes and muttered an agreement. The two 'lost' teens smiled at them and they all turned to the view. Even though Berk wasn't the prettiest of places to live, the view of it was quite breathtaking. They overlooked the deep blue sea off Berk's coast, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

"Wow, this is kinda cool," Ruffnut smiled.

"Yeah, but it's missing something," Tuffnut said.

"What?"

"It need a splot of Ruffnut on the ground over there." This answer earned Tuffnut a smack to the head. The others laughed at their antics while Toothless rolled his eyes. Humans are strange things, he thought. I mean, why would they walk up a mountain when they could just fly to the top? Why couldn't the stupid teens be like his human and the blonde girl?

**If you want to know that the conversation at the end was about, go read my story, 'I've Got A Dream!' It'll make more sense. I hope the ending wasn't too rushed, and please drop a review! **


End file.
